1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to laser ablation systems and methods for ablative material removal, including but not limited to such applications as surgical laser ablation for medical purposes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Laser has been used to remove or otherwise manipulate materials in a variety of ways. Laser can ablatively remove a material by disassociating the surface atoms. The process is generally referred to as “laser ablation.” Practical applications of laser ablation commonly use pulsed laser, and more commonly use short laser pulses. More recently, lasers of ultrashort pulses have started to have applications. While definitions vary, in general “ultrashort” refers to optical pulses of duration less than approximately 10 picoseconds including femtosecond laser pulses, and this definition is used herein. These latest lasers promise superior performance and ease of application. In particular, ultrashort laser pulses are more effective in overcoming common thermal damage problems associated with older lasers. Numerous applications of ultrashort pulses have been developed that would be otherwise impossible or impractical to implement with other technologies. With ultrashort pulses, researchers have investigated many highly nonlinear processes in atomic, molecular, plasma, and solid-state physics, and accessed previously unexplored states of matter.
Ablative material removal is especially useful for medical purposes, as it is essentially non-thermal and generally painless. In the past 20 years, laser ablation has become an increasingly important tool for medical surgery, applied in cases that have grown to include open, endoscopic or laparoscopic soft tissue incision or removal, such as eye surgeries, laser ablation of the prostate, breast biopsy, cytoreduction for metastatic disease, decubitus or statis ulcers, hemorrhoidectomy, laparoscopic surgery; mastectomy, reduction mammoplasty. Endovenous laser ablation has also become a safe and highly effective treatment for varicose veins.
In addition to the advancements in the laser technology itself, laser ablation is further benefited from other supplemental means such as computer-aided positioning technology for precision operation.
Given the importance of laser ablation, it is desirable to develop a new laser ablation system that offers better controllability, more automation, and higher accuracy.